What is Sweet Tea?
Sweet tea is a rare beverage that originated in St.Louis in 1904. Over time, this beverage has grown in popularity so much that it’s a common beverage on nearly all continents.
For instance, research shows that nearly 160 million Americans drink sweet tea daily. Believable research shows that sweet tea is much more popular in specific states like:
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- Alabama
- Kentucky
- North Carolina
Advantages Of Sweet Tea
Nutritional experts recommend sweet tea to everyone for a worthy reason. With this in mind, I feel obliged to share this in detail. Below are well-explained advantages of drinking sweet tea frequently.
Pay attention to this!
1. Enriches your body with antioxidants
If you’ve ever prepared sweet tea, you know that it’s made from fruits such as oranges and pineapples.
Fruit such as oranges contains compounds such as citrus flavonoids. The more the antioxidants in your body, the lower the risk of getting chronic diseases such as:
- Heart-related disease
- Macular Degeneration
- Cancer
2. Enhances your tooth health
The lower the acidity level in your mouth, the higher the risk of getting tooth-related problems such as tooth decay. Sweet tea plays a paramount role in altering your mouth PH level to your advantage.
Good PH levels safeguard the enamel from erosion by bacteria. As long as the enamel is intact, the last thing you need to worry about is toothache.
3. Staves off cancers
Sweet tea enriches your body with antioxidants that in turn lower the danger of getting cancer. Antioxidants root out free radicals to minimize their adverse effects. Because of this, you stand a lower chance of suffering from any form of cancer.
4. Boosts your memory
Regrettably, nearly all bloggers and the media have a bad habit of portraying caffeine in a bad light at all times. The good news is that caffeine has multiple nutritional benefits for the body.
Caffeine stimulates the brain, including the cerebral cortex. As a consequence, your memory improves over time. Limited studies show that learners that take sweet tea regularly, perform better in class.
5. Prevents macular degeneration
Macular Degeneration is an age-related illness that can potentially lead to blindness. Luckily for you and me, the antioxidants in sweet tea can help to impede this visual condition.
Antioxidant safeguards your eye cells in the retina from damage that may trigger macular degeneration. Cellular damage happens whenever free radicals get released and light gets absorbed in a human’s retina.
Disadvantages Of Sweet Tea
I don’t have the guts to dispute that sweet tea has numerous health benefits. It’s not in doubt that this beverage is nutrient-dense and hence beneficial to the body.
In the same vein, it’s hypocritical to deny that sweet tea equally has a few proven cons. I deem this a superb opportunity to enlighten a few of them.
1. May trigger sleeplessness
Does sweet tea have caffeine? It certainly does! Unfortunately, high amounts of caffeine affect the circadian melatonin rhythms hence preventing you from sleeping. The worst part is that if you drink this beverage your condition may worsen into a sleep disorder.
2. Causes kidney stones
Health experts such as Loyola University Medical Center (LUMC) urology consultant warn that drinking too much sweet tea is unhealthy for your kidneys. Kidney stones (urolithiasis) aren’t just painful but can permanently damage your kidneys.
3. Headache
Reliable research studies show beyond doubt that a daily caffeine intake of over 100 milligrams can trigger constant headaches. Tragically, too much caffeine in the body forces it to become narrower, especially in the brain.
4. Triggers anxiety
Are you predisposed to anxiety disorder? If so, you should never drink sweet tea under any circumstance. As highlighted above, iced sweet tea contains caffeine that instantly triggers the fight or flight brain response.
That’s the major reason why psychiatrists prohibit sweet tea, especially for anxiety disorder patients. This beverage is widely known to exacerbate mental disorders such as anxiety and panic disorders.
Nutritional Facts About Sweet Tea
Sweet tea is among the few nutrient-dense beverages. Do you doubt this fact? Well, the only way to convince you is to disclose some of the nutrients in this tasty beverage.
Here they are!
- Potassium
- Iron
- Calcium
- Vitamin C
- Carbohydrates
- Calories
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin D
Does Sweet Tea Have Caffeine?
Regular iced sweet tea of 100 grams contains 3 mg of Caffeine.
How To Reduce Caffeine From Sweet Tea?
It’s possible to decaffeinate sweet tea by following well-thought-out scientific steps. Don’t get in a flap if you don’t know this as I’ll guide you on the right way to get rid of this caffeine.
1. Use cold water for steeping
One brilliant way to reduce the amount of caffeine in your iced tea is to use relatively cold water. Ensure that the water is at a temperature of not more than 25 degrees Celsius.
Won’t it lower the nutritional value of the tea? Certainly not! Water temperature has no effect on the nutritional value of sweet tea.
2. Use decaffeinated iced tea
A better option would be to use decaffeinated iced tea to be on the safe side. Sometimes, avoidance is better than cure, especially if you’re heavily allergic to caffeine.
3. Use more water
The less water you use, the higher the amount of caffeine. Conversely, the more water you use, the lower the amount of caffeine. Personally, I recommend you add between 3 to 4 grams of sweet tea to 8 ounces of water.
4. Sizes of the tea leaves
It may sound laughable, but the size of the leaves affects how much caffeine is released. For instance, brands such as Lipton (with powdery iced tea) release more caffeine.
How To Make Sweet Tea?
Sweet is an easy-to-prepare beverage that isn’t just refreshing but equally energizing. Do you know how to prepare it? Don’t fret if you don’t as I have an approved recipe.
Ingredient:
- 1 Cup of Sugar
- 12 sweetened tea bags
- Ice
- Lemon slices (optional if you want that lemon-like taste)
Steps:
- Add some water (3-4 cups) to a pristine saucepan
- Place the saucepan overheat and let the heat up the water till it boils
- Remove the sauce from the heat source and dip your tea bags
- Let the tea bags hydrate for 3-5 minutes
- Add sugar to the saucepan and stir using a sieve.
- Refrigerate the water for 3-4 hours
- Add a few ice cubes to a few glasses
- Pour the iced tea into the glasses
- Add the lemon slices into the glasses
How To Choose Perfect Sweet Tea?
I always sympathize with customers that get second-rate sweet tea. You have a right to get high-quality tea products. It’s sad to admit that there are a few unscrupulous sweet tea manufacturers out there.
For that reason, I’d like to spare some time to guide you on how to get good sweet tea.
1. Brand
One sure tip is to choose a reputable sweet brand. Unlike yesteryears, there are dozens of well-respected sweet tea brands. Some of the top brands include:
- Lipton
- Arizona
- Gold Peak
- Snapple
- Milo’s
- Lipton Pure Leaf
2. Product Details
A good iced tea manufacturer needs to disclose as much information as possible. For instance, the brand must disclose ingredients, how to make sweet tea, nutritional facts, and side effects.
3. Ingredients
Any customer that values their health cannot fail to check out the ingredients used. Sadly, some manufacturers add artificial sweeteners that might jeopardize your health. Similarly, most uncertified sweet tea brands use dangerous ingredients too.
4. Store
A number of shoppers make a blunder by buying sweet tea from dodgy dealers. Online buying has exposed customers to the risk of dealing with such unlicensed and money-hungry online stores.
Please consider the most popular and licensed online stores instead. Further, you must always demand to get an online buying official receipt.
Top 5 Readymade Sweet Tea
1. Lipton Sweet Tea (Iced Tea)
Lipton iced tea refers to an incredibly sweetened beverage by Lipton Company. This mood-uplifting beverage is made from natural raw materials. You can quickly brew this tea within minutes in a Keurig machine.
Do you doubt the safety of Lipton iced tea? It may calm you down to know that all Lipton sachets are Rainforest Alliance Certified.
Where to buy Lipton Sweet Tea.
2. Bai Super Sweet Tea
Bai Supertea is the most nutrient-dense iced tea by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. Breathe a heavy sigh of relief as it contains unnatural flavors.
Bai currently exists in a package of 6 18fl OZ bottles. Here’s some juicy news, you can get this large package for as low as $24.Isn’t that a good deal?
Where to buy Bai Super Sweet Tea.
3. Nestea
Nestea Iced tea is a first-rate sweet tea by Nestle (brand name). This beverage is in powder form and has a lemony flavor. This unfathomably refreshing beverage has immense nutritional value to the body such as vitamin C and 35 calories.
4. Bang Original Ice Tea
Bang original is a high-quality type of tea by BANG.Ths beverage is sold in a pack of 12 tea cans. You can get this pack for as low as $27.99 to $30.00. Bang Original sweetened guarantees specific benefits such as enhanced concentration, improve one’s energy levels, and enhances one’s mental health.
5. Gold Peak
Gold Peak is a highly energizing beverage made by Gourmet Kitchen. Currently, it comes in different packages such as 18-bottle, 36-bottle, and 54-bottle packages. Gold peak sweetened sugar contains 190 (sweet tea calories), carbohydrates plus additional sugars.
Gold peak iced tea is sweetened using natural cane sugar. Therefore, you have no reason whatsoever to doubt its safety for your health.
The Bottom Line
As we draw to a close, I am confident that this insightful blog has fully answered: does sweet have caffeine? I couldn’t agree more with the popular adage that; ’too much of anything is poisonous ’. Don’t let your caffeine sensitivity deny you a chance to benefit from the immense benefits of drinking sweet tea.
FAQs
1. How calorically dense is sweet tea?
Research proves that calories are the highest nutrient contained in sweet tea. You’ll be awestruck to know that 7% of sweet tea is calories. Secondly, potassium is the second-largest nutrient (about 1 %).
For every cup of sweet tea you take, you take in close to 160 calories. Health experts can testify that calories have immense health benefits such as enhanced body functions.
2. How much caffeine is in McDonald’s sweet tea?
Perhaps you’re one of the people asking; does sweet tea have caffeine? Yes, all sweet tea brands have caffeine. All that varies is the quantity. For instance, each cup of McDonald’ contains at least 25mg of caffeine.
3. Can I add syrup to my iced sweet tea?
Yes, you can! Most people don’t know that syrup is just normal sugar that has been heated and dissolved in a liquid, preferably water. We only recommend you add the syrup to sweeten the tea.
4. I am 5 months pregnant right now. Is sweet tea safe for me?
Yes, it is! However, please ensure that your caffeine intake doesn’t surpass 300 milligrams. Obstetricians caution expectant women against taking too much caffeine as it may cause a miscarriage.
You must note that caffeine gradually raises blood pressure. In addition, this drink chemical affects digestion. Consequently, it impedes the proper growth of the fetus in the womb.
5. How will I know whether I am caffeine-sensitive or not?
Generally, nearly everyone is slightly caffeine-sensitive, especially if you take more than 400 mg every day. However, some people are completely caffeine intolerant.
Is it possible to know whether I am caffeine-sensitive or not? Yes, it is! If you’re allergic to caffeine, you’ll experience specific symptoms such as:
- Sleeplessness
- Anxiety
- Migraines
- Skin Itchiness
- Throat swelling
- Tachycardia
6. Is caffeine sensitivity treatable?
Yes, it is! Caffeine sensitivity isn’t as serious as some may think. However, it’s more intelligent to pay a visit to a doctor. Medication such as antihistamines is the best remedy for this sensitivity.
If you’re okay with your status quo, then the best solution is to keep off caffeine-rich foods and drinks.
7. What’s healthier between sweet tea and coffee?
Sweet tea is way healthier as compared to Coffee. Technically, coffee contains limited nutrients such as potassium, magnesium, and caffeine. On the other hand, sweet has more nutrients such as:
- Calories
- Potassium
- Carbs
- Vitamins
8. How much caffeine is in the different varieties of black tea?
All the 5 varieties of black tea (iced tea) contain varying caffeine varieties. For instance, 30 ml of sweet black tea contains a minimum of 48 mg of caffeine.
On the contrary, 30ml of lemon iced tea contains an estimated caffeine level of 15 mg.30ml of diet iced tea contains 15 milligrams of caffeine level.
9. Are there any proven side effects of taking sweet tea?
Yes, there are! Sweet tea may trigger some mild to severe side effects like other tea varieties. Key side effects include:
- Increases one’s anxiety: sweet tea contains a high level of caffeine. Unfortunately, too much caffeine isn’t good for your mental health. It is more dreadful if you are already battling anxiety disorders such as a social phobia.
- May provoke Nausea: sweet tea is among the top diuretic beverages that you must know about. That implies that sweet tea contains caffeine, an organic compound that triggers water removal from your body. Diuretic substances stimulate nausea as they force the body to get rid of water from the blood and direct it into the digestive system.
- May trigger depression: whenever you take too much sweet tea, you may realize that your mood plummets. Caffeine tends to inoculate adrenaline into the system which may activate the stress hormone (cortisol).
- Delayed sleep: what you probably don’t know is that the caffeine in sweet tea adversely limits the production of melatonin. Melatonin is an essential body hormone that is in charge of sleep regulation.
10. I currently suffer from hypertension. Would you recommend sweet tea?
No, I wouldn’t at all! Mind you that sweet tea contains high traces of caffeine. Sad to say, caffeine stimulates the adrenal glands to release more adrenaline. As a consequence, this hormone forces your heart to pump much faster than normal.
11. I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) 2 weeks ago. Should I avoid sweet tea? If so, why?
Yes, you should! All IBS sufferers must avoid sweetened iced tea at all costs. It’s common knowledge that iced tea contains a large amount of caffeine. Caffeine has a huge laxative effect on the body.
Because of that, experts argue that sweet tea tends to cause a gradual IBS flare-up. Unfortunately, irritable bowel syndrome has no known cure yet. Therefore, there’s no guarantee that a day will come when you can comfortably drink iced tea.
12. My son suffers from Overactive Bladder Syndrome. Is iced tea safe for him?
Certainly not! You wouldn’t want him to make even more trips to the restroom now and then. Caffeine is well-known to increase bladder activity irrespective of whether it’s daytime or at night.
As a consequence, your son might need to pee more frequently and urgently. Therefore, I advise you to hold on and let your son fully recover. Again and again, recovery takes between 10-12 weeks.
13. I’ve been an insomniac since February this year. Would you recommend sweet tea to trigger sleep?
No, I wouldn’t! Sad to say, sweet tea (iced tea) doesn’t trigger the sleep hormone. Contrary to false belief, iced tea triggers more alertness and does not make you feel sleepy.
With this knowledge in mind, I wouldn’t prescribe this type of tea or coffee as well. Instead, I suggest you consider taking juice instead. It’s not just nutritious but equally brain-boosting.
14. I have a painful sore throat. Should I drink iced tea?
Yes, you should! Sweet tea has both anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties that could end your misery. However, that doesn’t give you the carte blanche to drink iced tea excessively.
15. I would rather have my own sweeteners instead. Does the southern breeze manufacture unsweetened tea?
Yes, it does! Currently, the brand makes both sweetened and unsweetened tea. Therefore, I am of the opinion that you should consider buying unsweetened iced tea. This way you can add your preferred sweeteners.
For some reason, the Southern Breeze unsweetened iced tea doesn’t contain any calories. Most artificial sweeteners contain either low or no calories at all.
16. I would like to try out southern breeze tea before I decide whether to buy it or not. Does this brand offer samples to new customers?
Yes, it does! However, this solely happens when the brand is running a sampling campaign. Thus, it’s good that you stay alert to leverage the next sampling campaign.
Southern Breeze will announce it on all its social media platforms, such as Twitter. In addition, the company will announce the same in its official Newsletter.
